Reversing a split that caused a fair amount of grumbling over the summer, the Pentagon announced late Thursday that National Reconnaissance Office Director Donald Kerr has been appointed to a new Air Force post as the assistant to the Secretary...

The Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday took up Michael Wynne’s nomination to be Secretary of the Air Force. Though Sen. Carl Levin, the ranking Democrat, thought Wynne’s involvement in the tanker controversy would be a non-issue (DR, 10/06/05), Sen....

Before concluding the confirmation hearing, Committee Chairman Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) said he is urging the rest of the Senate to proceed with an up or down vote on the nomination. “I have the feeling … it will be up,”...

Wynne was asked whether the Air Force acquisition corps has been cut too much. He responded that he wants to restore talent in at least two critical areas which have experienced significant “roll off” in numbers. They are systems engineering...

Michael Weinstein, a graduate of the US Air Force Academy, filed a lawsuit in federal court Thursday saying academy leaders, over the past 10 years or, have permitted improper proselytizing by evangelical Christians. Complaints of religious intolerance earlier this year prompted the Air Force to conduct an investigation, which found no overt discrimination, but did find a lack of sensitivity. In June, Gen. John Jumper, then Chief of Staff, released a paper urging mutual respect among airmen. An independent review of the situation in July by a team from Yale University found systemic problems among chaplains at the academy. The Air Force, in late August, issued religious guidelines for the service.

USAF F-16s launched precision guided GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munitions and laser-guided GBU-12 Paveway bombs against targets in Iraq. In one sortie, the F-16s struck an insurgent safe house near Husaybah to support marines in Operation River Gate. In another,...

A USAF C-17 flew to an altitude of about 6,000 feet, nosed upward by about six degrees, and sent a dummy booster rolling out the aft cargo door off rubber wheels. The demonstration proved that the nose of the dummy...

The Air Force said that a “catastrophic cascading series of events”—mechanical and human—led to the June 22 crash of a high-flying U-2 reconnaissance in Southwest Asia. Pilot Maj. Duane Dively was killed. Brig. Gen. Thomas Andersen, head of the accident...

Since July, a special Pentagon panel, led by retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Ronald Kadish, has been gathering data to make recommendations to fix the department’s sagging acquisition oversight practices. According to Pentagon officials, the five-member Defense Acquisition Performance Assessment...

Boeing and Lockheed Martin made their teaming arrangement for the next increment of the Small Diameter Bomb program official Wednesday. Raytheon has announced its intent to compete for the small bomb prize. (DR, 09/30/05) There could be other interested parties,...

Remember the old Citizen Watch days? The Air Force Office of Special Investigation has reinvented that effort, calling their new program Eagle Eyes. OSI is moving the program out to the civilian populace surrounding Air Force bases. In Valdosta, Ga.,...

Senators unanimously voted to authorize award of the Congressional Gold Medal to the nearly 1,000 members of the Tuskegee Airmen, in recognition of their singular military record during World War II. The House must also approve the measure before it...

Needing to bolster fundraising efforts for the memorial to honor those killed by the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon, the Pentagon Memorial Fund organizers have turned to the ever-popular online auction giant eBay. The auctions, which run through Oct....

The Pentagon designated the Air Force to ensure the Defense Department gets reimbursed for expenses related to military support to Hurricane Katrina. Officials calculate the tab at about $1.6 billion. The money is to come from FEMA, Homeland Security, or...

The Air Force Enlisted Village in Shalimar, Fla., has opened its new assisted-living residence, called Hawthorn House. According to village officials, the 64-apartment facility is the culmination of a “38-year dream.” The first resident to move in, Marcia Solhein, said,...

October 5, 2005 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 10 6 – 16 CAS/Armed Recon 40 18 – 58 Airlift – – 170 170 Air refueling – – 32 32 Total 50 24 202 276 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation...